[trumansnare]

Hello,
Im leaving in less than two weeks. I am going on a cruise that leaves the United States. I am on Verizon Wireless. I am aware that the storm is a "global" smartphone. So the phone should work while on the ship and out of the country right? Do I have to call verizon and activate the "global" part of the phone?

Also, does anyone know how much more this costs. I wont be using data outside of the US, just basic service like phone calls, and texts. And it will only be for 4 days.

Please help,
Thanks a lot

[AisforAustin]

You can always buy a SIM card

[trumansnare]

You can always buy a SIM card

I thought about that, but im not stopping in a country for more than half a day. So im mostly gonna be on the ship in the middle of the ocean..... I don't see how a local sim could help me there....

[ishore]

Hello,
Im leaving in less than two weeks. I am going on a cruise that leaves the United States. I am on Verizon Wireless. I am aware that the storm is a "global" smartphone. So the phone should work while on the ship and out of the country right? Do I have to call verizon and activate the "global" part of the phone?

Also, does anyone know how much more this costs. I wont be using data outside of the US, just basic service like phone calls, and texts. And it will only be for 4 days.

Please help,
Thanks a lot

I was on a Princess Cruise Christmas here is what I did. Call VZW had them turn on international calling (FREE). My storm came with a sim card you will need. On the ship they had a satalite hook up cost $2.50 p/m. Off the ship, VZW will tell you the cost for the country you will be in.

[miamibeef04]

First off, your storm has a SIM card in it, so you can use it where there's a network. If you activate it for the trip, you'll be moved to a plan around $64.99 just for your data. And that's JUST DATA. Then add your voice calls per minute on top of your monthly access fees, and you're looking at some large numbers.
GlobalEmail

That said, you don't want to bring your blackberry over there because of the length of time you're traveling, and the fact that you only want to use it for calls and texts. It just doesn't make sense.

My suggestion: go with the rental program.
Global Travel Program
You might end up with some serious data charges if you take your BB over there and turn it on.

Here's a page where you can see your rates on certain cruise ships as well:
International Roaming

[marckatz]

Just got back from a cruise, Storm in hand.
As mentioned above, Call VZW and activate International calls.
You can activate a global data plan and have it prorated for the days you are there (yes it's about $69.month put in reality it's a little over $2.00 a day). Tell them the day you want it started. When you get back in the States dial *611 and tell them to remove it. You will not get data on the ship. If you get texts it's 5 cents to receive, .50 to send. Phone calls on the ship are expensive, like $2.99 a minute, but I never placed a call (just had the phone in case of an emergency) Each country is a different rate for phone calls. You can check with VZW and they will let you know the cost for each specific country.
I did this without problem. Was billed appropriately with no extra charges.

[trumansnare]

Just got back from a cruise, Storm in hand.
As mentioned above, Call VZW and activate International calls.
You can activate a global data plan and have it prorated for the days you are there (yes it's about $69.month put in reality it's a little over $2.00 a day). Tell them the day you want it started. When you get back in the States dial *611 and tell them to remove it. You will not get data on the ship. If you get texts it's 5 cents to receive, .50 to send. Phone calls on the ship are expensive, like $2.99 a minute, but I never placed a call (just had the phone in case of an emergency) Each country is a different rate for phone calls. You can check with VZW and they will let you know the cost for each specific country.
I did this without problem. Was billed appropriately with no extra charges.

So they can charge you per day and not just per month? Or did you have to pay the full $69? That is all im taking my phone for, is just for emergency calls. I am sure this is better than not taking my blackberry, because if I NEEDED to use the ships phone, it is almost $8 a minute.

[teddeli]

So they can charge you per day and not just per month? Or did you have to pay the full $69? That is all im taking my phone for, is just for emergency calls. I am sure this is better than not taking my blackberry, because if I NEEDED to use the ships phone, it is almost $8 a minute.

If you read the other post you would see that the global plan is prorated by the day. About $14 over your $30 plan for the week.

Another poster gave you false information. Internet browsing and e mail is included in the global plan No extra charges.

Basically what you will pay:
Global plan pro rated
.02 to receive and .50 to send texts
$2.99/minute on board ship
country cost/minute off ship

[marckatz]

What happens is they charge you the monthly global plan rate when you activate it, then post the refund for the time you did not use when you deactivate it.. It's not truly a daily plan, it's more like a month fee, then refund. If it works out great if you're still in the same billing cycle (like I was), it was great, didn't have to lay out any extra money for one month then a refund the next

[trumansnare]

Alright,
Im gonna give Verizon a call before I leave to activate that
thanks a lot everyone